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Finding Joy

Weeks into the new year and I'm finally back to post about m plans for 2015. Every January 1 we have ideas and plans about how this year is going to be our best yet. Everything we've been doing wrong will suddenly become right because the resolutions we make our going to change our lives. But by this time of the month, how many of those resolutions are still sticking for you?

For 2015, I decided to not make ANY resolutions or even set any goals. Even with the best of intentions, I won't follow them anyways. (Seriously. I just took a look at my new year post for 2014 and I could have reposted the exact same thing because nothing has changed.)

So many people seem to be choosing a word (or in my case a phrase) to focus on for the year rather than creating resolutions or goals. This seems like it would have a higher likelihood of success, because you are focused on one idea rather than a list of things you must do and remember.

So for me, 2015 is going to be about finding joy. No set plan or path on how to do this. I just need to remember that WHATEVER I'm doing needs to be something that brings the joy back into my life. That seems to be what has been lost over the years. Doing things because they are expected or because everyone else is needs to stop.

2014 has been a year of highs and lows...peaks and valleys. Just when I would think that things were headed in the right direction, a patch of ice would appear to make me slide off my path. Things that I had planned for my life and my blog just didn't happen. That isn't to say that there wasn't any good because there was. But ultimately, the big picture of the year just didn't look like it should. And do you know what was missing? And because it was missing, there was no chance of the year looking right? You guessed it. The joy. The joy of life. The joy of the everyday. The joy found doing something that you love. The joy of partnerships.

This idea was most evident while trying to decorate for Christmas. The tree had to be up....the wreaths needed hung....the decorations needed displayed.

The overwhelmed feelings all started with my annual craft open house the week before Thanksgiving. That ended and then everything needed cleaned up for Thanksgiving day. I went away Black Friday weekend and had to rush back home to decorate for Christmas so that I could take pictures, edit them, and get my post done for the house tour I was in. Most things weren't the way I wanted them to be and a lack of time caused NO other Christmas projects to be posted. Presents were bought at the last minute because I had no idea what to buy. Shopping even just for groceries was an ordeal because everyone else seemed to be in the same boat as me. \

Then, just when I thought there was a chance to save Christmas and finally relax and enjoy, my grandma ended up in the hospital and then the nursing home just days before the holiday.

This is all a long story to say that through ALL of this, there wasn't a bit of joy. There was no joy in the Christmas season, the process of decorating, shopping for gifts, or spending time with family and friends. I rushed so much to get things done that I never took the time to enjoy. And then the holiday was over.

And from what I've heard from many other people, their holidays turned out the same way.

There are a lot of things that suck the joy from our lives. Clutter. Our jobs. The responsibility of taking care of a loved one. The economy. Other people. Too many things on our to do list. The state of the world. It is impossible to avoid these things, but we need to work to minimize the impact that they are having on our lives.

So, for 2015, I'm choosing to find as much joy as I can in whatever I'm doing. Whether it is work, blogging, spending time with friends, or relaxing at home, I must find ways to enjoy. The joy must even be found when I have to go outside and brush the inches of snow off my car when the windchill is negative 20 like it was last week. (Ok...that will be a hard one. Maybe is I wear a cute scarf and furry snow boots I'll do it more joyfully.)

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